Refrigerating system



.A 1936. F. R. WEST 2,051,664

REFRIGERATING S'YSTEM Original Filed Nov. 15, 1929 INVENTOR. /:/9/l /ff? hKiJT A TTORNE Y.

Patented Aug. 18, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFBIGERATING SYSTEMtion of Michigan Application November 15, 1929, Serial No. 407,306Renewed July 6, 1934,

28 Claims.

This invention relates to a refrigerating system, and has to doparticularly with. a novel method and structure for controlling the flowof refrigerant through the system and especially from the condenser tothe evaporator or cooling unit.

Heretofore, commercial refrigerating systems have employed some meansbetween the high side and low side of the system'in an attempt tomaintain a certain relationship between the high pressure liquid and thelow pressure liquid or gaseous refrigerant. This means has been embodiedin two somewhat distinct structures; one, the so-called expansion valve,and the other the float valve. Expansion valves require very sensitivemetering through a small opening which is very susceptible to pluggingwith small pieces of dirt and is also subject to wear due to thisconstant wearing action of the fine grit and dirt which exists in allrefrigerating systems in practical commercial use. Systems using thefloat valve are also subject to stopping and wear because of dirt in thesystem. Furthermore, both systems, in addition to being subject tostoppage because of the freezing of water moisture, are also relativelyexpensive to build and require a large proportion of the serviceattention given to the system. It is also known that both of the abovesystems are frequently subjected to frosting back.

It is the object of the present invention to eliminate all metering ofthe refrigerant in its transfer from the condenser-to the evaporator.The structure and method of operation is such that all small holes andorifices and the necessity of maintaining delicate adjustments arecompletely eliminated.

More specifically, I have provided what might be termed an impulsesystem which consists broadly in the provision of an auxiliary containerfor receiving refrigerant from the condenser during the non-runningperiod and means for conducting the liquid in such auxiliary containeren masse to the cooling unit during the initial part of the actualrunning period. Other novel steps and features will be brought out inthe appended claims.

The drawing is a diagrammatic illustration of a refrigerating systemembodying the present invention.

The application of my present system to commercial structures mayobviously vary so widely that I have merely shown the samediagrammatically, but it will be obvious to those skilled in the 4 55art how such system may-be modified or adapted to meet the particularrequirements of any desired installation.

The refrigerating or cooling unit is generally designated as at I, themain control valve for controlling the flow of refrigerant from the main5 to the auxiliary receiver and to the cooling unit is generallydesignated 2, and a control device is diagrammatically shown at 3 whichis so set as to operate the system to run when the pressure andtemperature in the cooling unit gets above a certain point and, which ofcourse, is also. set to stop the system when the pressure andtemperature runs below a certain point. Such control 3 may be operatedby means of the pressure in the cooling unit or by means of thetemperature created by the cooling unit, the particular form of suchcontrol being immaterial to the present invention and any standard typeof apparatus may be used.

A standard compressor is indicated as at 4, condenser coils as at 5, andthe main receiver for the refrigerant condensed in the condenser as atI. The refrigerant from the condenser coils may be conducted to thereceiver 1 by means of a suitable conduit 6. An auxiliary receiver 8 isso positioned or arranged as to receive refrigerant from the mainreceiver 1, and in the drawing I have shown such two receivers asconnected by means of conduits 9 and I0 both of which lead to thecontrol valve 2.

This control valve is designed to be in turn controlled or actuated bymeans of a main control 3 as by the connections shown, and it will beobvious that such control valve 2 may be connected into the system in amanner so as to move to one position when the system is operated and toreturn to normal position when the system stops. I prefer to connect upthe operation of the valve 2 with the operation of the control 8, suchas, for instance, operating the valve 2 by a solenoid, the electriccircuits for which may be made and broken by the control 3.

The valve 2 is shown diagrammatically as a three way valve and the thirdmember for cooperating with this valve consists of a conduit ii which isshown diagrammatically as leading above and into the upper part of thedrum it of the cooling unit. Completion ofthe system is by means of aconduit l2 which returns the expanded-for' evaporated refrigerant to thecompressor, the compressor in turn being operated by means of a suitablesource of power l4, controlled by the control unit, 8. a r

In theoperation of the system, let it be assumed that the system is inthe refrigerating part of its cycle or, in other words, the compressoris being operated by the motor whereby it is drawing off gas from thetop of the cooling unit and efiecting refrigeration at that point byreducing the pressure of the refrigerant liquid and causing it to boiland absorb heat from the media surrounding the cooling unit, I.

At the same time the compressed gas, drawn off from the cooling unit, isbeing condensed in the condenser in the ordinary manner and thisliquefled refrigerant is stored into the main receiver '1. It will beseen that the liquid cannot escape from the receiver I because the bypass valve 2 is in operating position.

The refrigerating part of the cycle will continue as long as the gas isgenerated fast enough to keep up the proper pressure and temperature inthe cooling unit. When the cooling unit becomes cold enough to shut thesystem down by means of the control 3, the valve 2 is designed to swingthrough an arc of from the position shown in the drawing, whereby two ofthe ports thereof will register with the conduits 9 and I0. Registrationof such ports with the conduits 9 and ID will allow the liquid from thereceiver 1 to flow into the auxiliary receiver 8. Inasmuch as the liquidin the upper chamber is under high condensing pressure it will beobvious that such liquid will readily move into the lower chamber 8'which is under a relatively low pressure due to its having been exposedto the low pressure of the cooling unit in the previous part of thecycle.

The upper chamber I is preferably of a size and capacity equal to thecapicity of the cooling unit so that, if necessary, it could receive allof the liquid from the cooling unit, such as, for instance, if all ofthe liquid in the cooling unit should be gassed oif during an extremecondition of operation. Under normal conditions of operation, assumingthe round drum of the cooling unit to be about 4 inches in diameter andsay from 6 inches to 12 inches in length, the liquid level in thecooling unit would only be reduced from the maximum of say threequarters full by from approximately one half to one inch. This conditionwould, of course, depend upon-the particular conditions of operation.

A further important feature of the system is that the liquid refrigerantin the receivers is self balancing relative to the liquid in the coolingunit as the gas taken from the cooling unit is stored in the upperchamber during the running period,

transferred to the lower chamber during the nonrunning' period, and thenwhen the system is started again by the control 3 this same liquid whichwas drawn ofi during the previous running cycle is now in thelowerchamber 8. If the bypass valve 2 is moved into the position shownin the drawing, because of the starting of the system, the liquid in thereceiver will be under a relatively high pressure and will be rapidlyconducted up through the conduit I I and into the top of the coolingunit. This impulse or injecting action of the refrigerant takes placeimmediately after the compressor is started and during the initial partof the running of the same. The conduit II is preferably positioned atthe top of the cooling unit so that during the refrigerating part of thecycle, none of the liquid refrigerant from the cooling unit can run backinto the valve unit 2 and lower chamber 8.

It will thus be seen thatI have completely eliminated all metering ofthe refrigerant and all expensive and complicated devices foraccomplishing such metering and that the elimination of such meteringhas been accomplished merely by the insertion of an auxiliary receiverin the system, the refrigerant in such auxiliary chamber beingsubstantially-all discharged into the cooling unit during the first partof each refrigerating cycle.

What I claim is:

1. In a refrigerating system of the closed type having cooling,compressing, and condensing units, a plurality of receiving chambers forthe condensed refrigerant and means operating in synchronism with thestarting and stopping of the compressor for controlling the transfer ofrefrigerant from one of said chambers to another.

2. In a refrigerating system of the closed type having cooling,compressing, and condensing units, a plurality of receiving chambers forthe condensed refrigerant and means operating in synchronism with thestarting and stopping of the compressor for controlling the transferofrefrigerant from one of said chambers to another,

said means also controlling the flow of refrigerant from one of saidchambers to the cooling unit.

3. In a refrigerating system of the closed type having cooling,compressing, and condensing units, a plurality of receiving chambers forthe condensed refrigerant and means operating in synchronism with thestarting and stopping of the compressor for controlling the transfer ofrefrigerant from one of said chambers to another, said means alsocontrolling the flow ,of refrigerant from one of said chambers to thecooling unit and being operative to. control the flow of refrigerant tothe cooling unit when the system is in opera tion.

4. In a refrigerating system of the type having cooling, compressing,and condensing units, the combination of a plurality of receivingchambers positioned between the condensing and cooling units, and meansfor controlling the flow of refrigerant from one chamber to another andfrom one chamber to the cooling unit.

5. In a refrigerating system of the type having cooling, compressing,and condensing units, a receiver for liquid refrigerant adapted to holda supply of refrigerant during the normal inoperative period of thesystem, and an unrestricted relatively large conduit for conducting saidrefrigerant into the top part of the cooling unit.

6. In a mechanical refrigerating system of the type having cooling,compressing, and condensing units, the combination of means governed bythe conditions of said cooling unit for simultaneously supplying anunrestricted flow of liquid refrigerant to, withdrawing vaporizedrefrigerant from the cooling unit, and storing the withdrawn condensedrefrigerant, during the operation of the compressor.

7. In a refrigerating system of the closed type having cooling,compressing and condensing units, a receiving chamber other thanthecooling unit for collecting refrigerant, means operative to closecommunication between said receiving chamber and the cooling unit duringa portion of the operating cycle, and means operating in synchronismwith the starting and stopping of the compressor for controlling thetransfer of the stored refrigerant in the receiving chamber as a mass tothe cooling unit and during a period timed in close sequence to thestart of the compressor.

8. In a refrigerating system of the closed type having cooling,compressing and condensing units, storage means for the condensedrefrigerant, a valve positioned between said storage means and thecooling unit, and means operating intermittently to open said valve at aperiod timed in close sequence to the starting of the compressor forsupplying the refrigerant collected in the storage means as a mass tothe cooling unit.

9. The method of controlling the flow of refrigerant in refrigeratingsystems having cooling, compressing and condensing units, whichcomprises accumulating liquid refrigerant dur-' ing operating period,storing liquid refrigerant.

and shutting off communication between the cooling unit and storedrefrigerant during operating and non-operating periods of the system andthen transferring stored refrigerant to the cooling unit during thefirst part of the next refrigerating cycle.

10. The method of controlling the flow of refrigerant in refrigeratingsystems having a closed cycle, which consists in accumulating liquidrefrigerant during operating period, storing condensed refrigerant andshutting off communication between the cooling unit and storedrefrigerant during a portion of both refrigerating and non-refrigeratingcycles, and conducting accumulated refrigerant into the cooling unit asa relatively large mass at the start of each operating cycle.

11. The method of controlling the flow of. refrigerant in refrigeratingsystems having cooling, compressing and condensing units, whichcomprises accumulating liquid refrigerant during operating cycle,storing condensed refrigerant and shutting off communication between thecooling unit and stored refrigerant during both non-operating andoperating cycles of the system, and conducting accumulated refrigerantto the cooling unit as a large mass during a period timed in closesequence to the start of the operating cycle.

12. The method of controlling the flow of refrigerant in refrigeratingsystems having cooling, compressing and condensing units, whichcomprises accumulating liquid refrigerant during operating cycle,storing condensed refrigerant and shutting off communication between thecooling unit and stored refrigerant during both non-operating andoperating cycles of the system, and conducting stored refrigerant to thecooling unit as a mass during a period timed in close sequence to thefirst part of the operating cycle.

13. The method of controlling the flow of refrigerant in refrigeratingsystems having cooling, compressing and condensing units, whichcomprises accumulating and storing liquid refrigerant during therefrigerating cycle and transferring at least a-pertion of said liquidto another point of storage other than the cooling unit during the 03period of the system.

14. The method of controlling the flow of refrigerant in refrigeratingsystems having cooling, compressing and condensing units, whichcomprises accumulating liquid refrigerant during operating period andstoring liquid refrigerant during the operating and non-operatingperiods of the system other than in the cooling unit and thentransferring substantially all of said stored refrigerant to the coolingunit during the first part of the next refrigerating cycle.

15. The method of controlling the flow of refrigerant in refrigeratingsystems having cooling, compressing and condensing units, whichcomprises withdrawing and condensing therefrigerant gas during therefrigerating and operating cycle, storing said condensed refrigerantother than in the cooling unit, and then conducting said storedcondensed refrigerant into the cooling unit during the first part of thenext refrigerating and operating cycle.

16. In a refrigerating system of the type having cooling, compressing,and condensing units, storage means for receiving refrigerant during theoperative and non-operative cycles of the compressor, and meansconnected with said storage means and cooling unit for conductingrefrigerant to the cooling unit during the operation of the compressor,said conducting means for conducting the refrigerant from said lastnamed means to the cooling unit being entirely unrestricted.

1'7. In a refrigerating system of the type having cooling, compressing,and condensing units, a receiver for a liquid refrigerant adapted tohold a supply of refrigerant during the normal inoperative period of thesystem, and an unrestricted relatively large conduit for conducting saidrefrigerant into the top part of the cooling unit from the receiver,said conduit extending above and then downwardly into the cooling unit.

18. In a refrigerating system of the type having cooling, compressingand condensing units, control means actuated by conditions in thecooling unit for starting and stopping the compressor, a storage tankbetween the compressor and cooling unit, a valve controllingcommunication between the tank and cooling unit and between tank andcondenser, and means operating to open communication between thecondenser and evaporator upon starting of the compressor and to closesaid communication when the compressor stops.

19. In a refrigerating system of the type having cooling, compressingand condensing units, the combination of a plurality of receivers forthe condensed refrigerant, means controlled by the stopping of thesystem for transferring refrigerant from one receiver to another, andmeans controlled, by the starting of the system for conducting saidtransferred refrigerant to the cooling unit.

20. In a refrigerating system of the closed type having cooling,compressing and condensing units, storage means other than the coolingunit for storing condensed refrigerant during a portion of both theoperating and non-operating periods of the compressor, a valve forclosing communication between the storage means and the cooling unitduring a portion of each non-operative cycle of the compressor, andmeans operating intermittently and in synchronism with each starting andstopping of the compressor for opening said valve and controlling thetransfer of refrigerant as a mass from said storage means to the coolingunit.

21. The method of refrigeration with a compressor-condenser-expandertype system which comprises vaporizing a volatile liquid refrigerant byreducing the pressure of the refrigerant by the compressor, compressingthe vaporized refrigerant with the compressor, condensing the vaporizedrefrigerant, discharging at one time the previously condensed confinedrefrigerant to a point in the system at which it is available forrevaporization by the compressor in response to a condi-- main storagereceiver and said evaporator.

24. An automatic refrigerating system of thecompressor-condenser-expander type comprising in combination, anevaporator, means including a compressor and a condenser connected withthe evaporator for vaporizing liquid refrigerant in the evaporator andfor condensing and storing the quantity of refrigerant vaporized in saidevaporator, and means responsive to a condition of the system fordischarging said quantity of refrigerant at one time from the firstmeans to the evaporator.

25. An automatic refrigerating system of thecompressor-condenser-expander type comprising in combination, anevaporator, means including a compressor and a condenser connected withthe evaporator for vaporizing liquid refrigerant in the evaporator andfor condensing the same, a receiver connected with the condenser forstoring the said quantity of refrigerant vaporized in said. evaporator,means for rendering the compressor operative intermittently, and meansresponsive to temperature conditions for discharging said quantity ofstored refrigerant from the receiver during the idle period of saidcompressor for use in the evaporator on the succeeding operation of thecompressor.

26. An automatic refrigerating system of thecompressor-condenser-expander type comprising in combination, anevaporator, means including a compressor and a condenser connected withthe evaporator for vaporizing liquid refrigerant in the evaporator andfor condensing and storing the quantity of refrigerant vaporized in saidevaporator, means' for causing said quantity of refrigerant to dischargeat one time from the first means to the evaporator, and means forrendering said first means alternatively operative.

27. In combination in a refrigerating system, a refrigerant evaporator,refrigerant condensing means connected thereto, a main storage receiverconnected to the refrigerant condensing means, an auxiliary receiver,means responsive to a temperature condition of the system for connectingsaid auxiliary receiver alternatively with said main storage receiverand said evaporator.

28. In combination in a-refrigerating system, a

FRANK R. WEST.

